Michael Beasley read it a couple weeks ago. He can't remember where he saw it, but the message of the article stuck with him.
"It said I was one-dimensional," the Timberwolves forward said Friday. "It kind of made me upset. I just kind of want to show people that I can do more than just score the basketball."
Maybe it was that story he read. Maybe it is the list of things Wolves coach Kurt Rambis and his staff work on with Beasley each day. Maybe it's just the natural progression of a naturally talented player getting the opportunity, over and over again, at important times in basketball games.
But Beasley is doing more.
Exhibit A: The end of the Wolves game in Cleveland on Sunday, with the Wolves down a point and the ball in Beasley's hands. Earlier this month, the lefthanded Beasley likely would have tried to drive to his left to get off a shot. He might have made it, too, or he might have had the ball swatted away by a team expecting it. Against the Cavaliers, Beasley drove right and scored on a layup.
Or take Monday's game against New Orleans. Beasley got his points, 30 of them, but he also had a career-high seven assists on a night when several players, including rookie Wes Johnson, were hot.
It was just another sign Beasley is trying to round out his game. He is averaging 22.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
"Honestly I'm just playing basketball," he said. "I'm not trying to force it; it's chess, not checkers. ... Ultimately I just want to help my team win, whether it means scoring a million points, grabbing a million rebounds or blocking a million shots."
http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/112731744.html
